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Casual Articles - Sales Management Myths: Entrepreneurial Salesperson
The study of business ethics and its implications for different stakeholders have seen tremendous growth in the past few decades. There has also been a rise in the use and development of codes of ethics and announcements for ethical practices by many firms; however companies are still criticized for their unethical practices at different levels (Papers4you.com, 2006). Business ethics, according to the literature has been entrenched with the philosophical details of Ethics (Trevino & Nelson, 1999). Ethics has been defined as ‘the activity of examining the moral standards of a society, and asking how these standards apply to ones life and whether these standards are reasonable’ (Velasquez, 1998; p. 11).The literature on business ethics is divided on its views about the motivation and reaso
This model works best when the market is growing. As long as there is more and more business out there to be had, the focus of most companies is to grab as much as they can, without caring a whole lot as to which customers and which products make up t
You’re on your organization's diversity committee. You have the best of intentions.And that's the problem.It leads you to appeal for funding for all the wrong reasons.Take healthcare for example.The US foreign-born population comprises a larger segment than at any time in the past five decades. And this trend is expected to continue(1). People of diverse racial, ethnic, and cultural heritage suffer disproportionately from cardiovascular disease, diabetes, HIV/AIDS and every form of cancer. In addition, their infant mortality rates are generally higher(2). Minorities receive measurably poorer care and they suffer for it.Great reasons for diversity training. Disastrous reasons to ask for executive funding for your diversity program.If you doubt me, just l
And for a couple decades it had worked well. The business grew and expanded. More entrepreneurial sales people were added, and the model was duplicated over and over again.
So far so good. But then the growth in sales began to slow down. Three flat or declining years in a row has caused this company president to question the status quo. Not only is business flat, but he's unable to get his sales force to promote the lines that he wants to promote, he's unable to get them to use some of the new technology that the company wants them to use, and he's unable to get them to prospect for new customers. Now he's faced with an experienced sales force, who for the most part, are unmanageable.
The culpit? A sales model that was built on the concept of the entrepreneurial salesperson. There was a time when this model was effective, but in today's competitive economy, there are serious difficulties with the entrepreneurial model.
This model works best when the market is growing. As long as there is more and more business out there to be had, the focus of most companies is to grab as much as they can, without caring a whole lot as to which customers and which products make up th
I had the pleasure of sitting next to Jane at a networking meeting a few of weeks ago. Random chance placed we two somewhat introverted people at the table next to each other, and for the first 5-10 minutes we didn't speak to each other at all. This of course defies traditional networking convention. Within 30 seconds of sitting down shouldn't I have introduced myself, given her my sales pitch and business card? Am I losing a sale here, and should I just forget about networking because I am not good at it? In a word, "no". It turns out that after a while Jane and I finally did get to talking, I learned that Jane is a fine artist, that's what she does, but beyond that I learned she has a background in computer graphics, 3d modeling and work
And for a couple decades it had worked well. The business grew and expanded. More entrepreneurial sales people were added, and the model was duplicated over and over again.
So far so good. But then the growth in sales began to slow down. Three flat or declining years in a row has caused this company president to question the status quo. Not only is business flat, but he's unable to get his sales force to promote the lines that he wants to promote, he's unable to get them to use some of the new technology that the company wants them to use, and he's unable to get them to prospect for new customers. Now he's faced with an experienced sales force, who for the most part, are unmanageable.
The culpit? A sales model that was built on the concept of the entrepreneurial salesperson. There was a time when this model was effective, but in today's competitive economy, there are serious difficulties with the entrepreneurial model.
This model works best when the market is growing. As long as there is more and more business out there to be had, the focus of most companies is to grab as much as they can, without caring a whole lot as to which customers and which products make up t
One of the things that salespeople talk to me the most about is qualifying sales leads correctly. Many people have challenges with their pipelines, which I find to be quite interesting. They have a lot of opportunities in the pipeline that are either taking far too long close, they have a low closing ratio or they cannot get return calls anymore (aka the customer has lost interest). This is why I use a sales tool called BANT. Whenever I am prospecting for opportunities or new clients I will use BANT to determine if the opportunity is a legitimate sales lead or that it will turn into an eventual sale. BANT stands for Budget, Authority and Time frame. I will qualify BANT with a customer with the following questions:If we are able to show a return on this project, do you have the budget to
The culpit? A sales model that was built on the concept of the entrepreneurial salesperson. There was a time when this model was effective, but in today's competitive economy, there are serious difficulties with the entrepreneurial model.
This model works best when the market is growing. As long as there is more and more business out there to be had, the focus of most companies is to grab as much as they can, without caring a whole lot as to which customers and which products make up t
As a manager, you're expected to decide what needs to be done, gather the resources to do it, and then decide who does what.Okay, managing is a little more than that, but it certainly does include setting goals, gathering resources, and delegating tasks.Now, if you're like many managers, there sometimes isn't any clear line between the work you think you should do, and the work you think your staff should do.In fact, you may not be a "pure" manager (is there such a thing?) in the sense that you are expected to do some of the "doing" as well as the "managing".For instance, you might roll up your sleeves and get behind the counter of your store now and again... you might go out on the road and sell at times... you might handle some of the consulting proje
The culpit? A sales model that was built on the concept of the entrepreneurial salesperson. There was a time when this model was effective, but in today's competitive economy, there are serious difficulties with the entrepreneurial model.
This model works best when the market is growing. As long as there is more and more business out there to be had, the focus of most companies is to grab as much as they can, without caring a whole lot as to which customers and which products make up t
When entering or working in a foreign country, the first attention is usually put on sales. Questions that come up are questions such as “Will our products sell?,” “What differences do I have to watch out for?,” “Are there regulatory requirements I have to fulfil?,” etc. A savvy recruiter can often help with questions like this, particularly if he has been working for some time. The amount of experience and the insights that a recruiter gets into all kinds of different businesses is tremendous.Before calling up your friendly headhunter, a few thoughts need to be put to your operations in Germany. Do you want to have a trade representation or do you want to have a permanent establishment of your own? If you want a permanent establishment it would be wise to consult with a legal firm or on
This model works best when the market is growing. As long as there is more and more business out there to be had, the focus of most companies is to grab as much as they can, without caring a whole lot as to which customers and which products make up the business. Employing a group of entrepreneurial salespeople reduces the demands on sales management so that the company's executives can focus on building the infrastructure necessary to keep up with the consistent growth.
As we all know, this was the case for most of the previous decade. By shifting the responsibility for sales management unto the salespeople, however, you give up much of your management influence. In effect, you cede management of the sales force to the salespeople. And they generally make decisions that are in their own self interest, not yours. The very concept of an entrepreneurial salesperson is that he/she will manage himself. By definition, you abdicate your managerial role and cede management to the salesperson.
Is it any wonder that you can't direct the salesperson?
As long as business was consistently growing, this wasn't an issue. But now it is a concern. Most distributors have experienced a reduction in sales volume over the last few years. Many have come to the conclusion that they have to initiate significant changes in their sales organizations if they are going to be profitable and growing.
Now, instead of just more business, progressive distributors wan
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